‘Dispute Resolution analysis: Colm Nugent, barrister at Hardwicke Chambers, explains why the appeal court will not readily countenance a complete change of case on an appeal when the claim or defence as advanced has been struck out, or summary judgment given.’

‘Every time we think the courts might have given defendants in adjudication enforcement proceedings slightly more latitude in raising their dissatisfaction with an adjudicator’s decision, the court brings us back down to earth with a bump and reminds us that, in fact, no matter how hard done by our clients feel, they will have to “pay now and argue later”, save in the rarest of cases.’

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that gave a national law firm summary judgment in a case alleging that its negligence had caused a company to lose a £4m intellectual property licensing deal with a global engineering giant.’

‘The approach to be taken to a defence to a claim for possession of residential premises which alleged unlawful discrimination against a disabled person, contrary to the Equality Act 2010, was different from that which applied to a defence which alleged a breach of an individual’s rights under article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In particular, summary judgment would not normally be an appropriate procedure for dealing with a possession claim where a disability discrimination defence was raised.’

‘It is unusual for a patent infringement case to be decided without a full trial. A judge will normally want to hear evidence from experts to understand what people working in the relevant field would have known at the time when the patent was first filed. Recent examples of this kind of analysis can be found in Virgin v Rovi (discussed here) and Teva v AstraZeneca.’

“Well–drawn guarantees contain comprehensive ‘anti-discharge’ provisions, designed to prevent a guarantor being discharged from liability by any post-guarantee amendments to the principal transaction or extensions of time to pay or other indulgence given to the principal debtor without the guarantor’s knowledge or consent. This right to be discharged is generally known as the rule in Holme v Brunskill (1878) 3 QBD 495) after the leading case that set out the mature principle. Banks and others have continuously refined these ‘anti-discharge’ provisions to try to make sure that the rule in Holme v Brunskill is stripped of its effect.”

“The Court of Appeal has hit out at lengthy and complex skeleton arguments, describing them as the ‘bane’ of commercial litigation and warning that failing to comply with the practice directions on them will result in costs sanctions.”

“It was not appropriate to apply for summary judgment after the exchange of witness statements in proceedings alleging fraud and dishonesty where the applications were based on a particular interpretation of facts and on the inferences to be drawn from established facts. Paragraphs in a witness statement containing a recitation of facts based on documents, commentary on those documents, argument, submissions and expressions of opinion, made by a witness who had had no prior involvement with the subject matter of the proceedings were abusive and should be struck out.”

“Notwithstanding the difficulties which could arise in cases where the technology was complex, it should not be assumed that summary judgment was not for patent disputes; the general rules as to summary judgment applied equally to patent cases as to other types of case and where the technology was relatively simple to understand, and the court was able, on summary application, to form a confident view about the claim and its construction, in particular about the understanding of the man skilled in the art, there was no good reason why summary procedure could not be invoked.”

“Where a landlord opposed the renewal of a tenancy under section 30(1)(f) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 on the ground that he intended to redevelop the land the date of the hearing at which the necessary intention had to be shown to exist was always the date of the substantive trial of the landlord’s ground of objection.”

“Where an application for summary judgment turned on the terms of a written contract, it did not follow that the factual matrix of the contractual relationship could only be determined by a full trial with discovery, evidence and cross-examination of witnesses. If there was no conflict of evidence on a relevant point of background matrix, it was only when there really were reasonable grounds for supposing that a fuller investigation of the facts as to the background might make a difference to construction that the court should decline to construe the contract on a summary judgment (including a strike out) application.”

“Much has already been said about Lord Justice Jackson’s proposals for success fees, after-the-event insurance, costs shifting and the like, but much less, if anything, about litigation processes, and their impact on costs. Yet it is surely unarguable that a streamlining or simplification of the litigation process would result in a reduction in costs.”